Bring Me To Life
by Moderndaydrifter
Summary: Ignoring a problem can possibly make matters worse. Coach Taylor is going to find out the hard way.
1. Chapter 1

"Riggins, how about you get yer head outta yer ass?" Coach Taylor placed his hands on his hips and paced back and forth in front of his offensive line, his temper raging at what he saw. "Do you gentlemen realize that we've got two days before Westerby comes here? They don't care if they humiliate you in front of your family." He bit his bottom lip, his index finger curling around his fullback's facemask. "You've ran this play a million times, son. You should be able to do it in your sleep!"

Riggins backed away, his eyes downcast. Eric could smell remnants of alcohol, his stomach tightening in knots. He ignored his observation and continued. Preaching to Riggins about drinking was a lost cause. "Line back up and get it right this time, or you will all run!" He raised his voice and walked back to the sideline, glancing up into the stands. Buddy waved at him and he nodded back, but quickly turned back to his team. "You men get this play right I might just call it a day!"

He wiped some sweat off of his brow and the back of his neck. He felt so sticky and his heavy cotton shirt engulfed him, making him feel about one hundred pounds heavier. The Gatorade beside him looked refreshing, so he drank down two cups before sending the team to the showers.

The walk back to the field house was nothing unbearable, but when he reached his office he felt as if he had ran a marathon. Sitting down hard in his chair, he was caught off guard when Coach McGill tapped his fist on the doorframe.

"You okay Coach? You look exhausted."

Eric moved some paperwork around on his desk and nodded. "Yeah, just need to catch up on some sleep. You gonna be here at 7:30 for film tomorrow?"

"You bet. It's probably the heat out there that has you feeling so crappy. Forecast says we are in for three digit temperatures for the rest of August."

"Just keep the fluids going, we'll be okay." Eric grabbed his duffel bag, throwing it over his shoulder as he strode toward Mac. "I think I'm headed home. See ya bright and early."

* * *

"Hon, you wanna take the trash out right quick?" Tami poked her head into the pantry, plugging her nose with her fingertips. "It's starting to smell pretty rank."

Eric glared at her a moment and paused the TV, mustering up enough energy to get to a standing position. He tried not to react the way he had, but couldn't control the fact that he was annoyed by her request. The look on her face was enough to tell him that his reaction had pissed her off. The smell of the garbage hit his stomach like a lead balloon and he pulled away and ducked his nose into his shirt collar.

"Jeez, what in the hell is in that?" Wincing, he quickly tied it up to mask the odor escaping from it.

"Dirty diapers mainly. And I'm sorry. I would take it out myself but I'm in the middle of making dinner. You act like the dumpster is five blocks away."

He looked down at the floor, a yawn erupting from his lips. "I'm sorry Tami. I had just gotten comfortable and with the day I've had it's hard to get going." He pulled up on the plastic bag, holding it away from his body as he went out the back door. Pausing, he turned and smiled at her. "Don't ya think we need to invest in a diaper genie?"

"Just get it out of the house before we all pass out from poisonous gasses." Tami giggled, indicating to Eric that she was over his reluctant attitude toward taking the mundane chore.

He heaved the heavy bag over his shoulder, slamming it down into the metal bin. Bracing himself on a nearby fence, he hunched over to catch his breath. He didn't understand why he was so exhausted. He had lived in Texas his whole life and had endured many hot summers, and never did he get this tired from the temperature out. Maybe it was because he was getting older.

Shrugging it off, he straightened his posture and ambled back through his gate and back in the house, falling hard into his recliner. His eyelids grew heavy and he dozed off to the sound of the game film playing in front of him.

"Eric? Hon, supper is ready if you want to come join us." Tami tugged at his arm and he jolted forward. "You sure you are okay?"

He swallowed hard and pushed the chair forward. "Yeah, I'm good. Just took me a little cat nap." The smell of her meatloaf made his mouth water and his stomach growl. At least he did have his appetite. Julie was making her plate and Gracie was in her high chair, a small saucer in front of her with several small chunks of meat and cut up vegetables scattered in front of her.

"I think she's wearing more than what's going in her tummy." Eric poked his finger in her stomach, his voice changing to baby talk. "Aren't you my Gracie Belle? That food good?"

His youngest daughter smiled up at him, her mouth full of mashed potatoes. A few flew out of from her lips as she laughed. Her hair was smooth like peach fuzz and he ran his fingertips over her scalp as he sat down adjacent to her. The food looked amazing and he dug right in, the meat heavy on his tongue as it trailed down to his stomach.

He listened intently as Julie talked about her day and how she had to have an article out for the Dillon High newspaper before Friday and how it would be humiliating when she had to interview the school superintendent on several issues that she knew nothing about. Gracie's face was covered in her dinner with a few green beans plastered in the layer of mashed potatoes on her chin. Eric still couldn't believe that she was at the age where she knew how to feed herself, just didn't have the whole mechanics of working a fork down.

"Dinner was great, Tami." He patted his stomach and leaned back in his chair. He felt another yawn escape from his lips and he stood up, walking back to the couch. "Need any help with the dishes?" He was hoping deep inside she'd say no, but if he didn't ask she'd probably have something else snide to say about him helping around the house.

"No dad, I got it." Julie poked her head around the corner.

"Thanks Jules, maybe your father and I can spend some time together." Tami grabbed two wineglasses from the cupboard and a bottle of Merlot from the cabinet. Pouring him a glass, she sat beside him and brushed her lips against his. "You aren't going to fall asleep one me, Coach?"

Eric shook his head, sipping on the liquid. "Nope. Just waiting on the girls to go to bed." He arched his eyebrow at her, hoping she'd catch his hint and thankfully, she had.

* * *

"You think Julie is asleep?" Eric kept his voice low as he leaned in and kissed Tami's neck, leaning back against the headboard. The local news was on but he wasn't paying too much attention to it.

"I don't know, hon. It's only ten o'clock, it's very unlikely."

"She uses her Ipod when she's studying right? Maybe she's working on that article she was talking about." His hands ran through her hair. Despite the fact that he was tired, he still wanted some time with Tami. Between hauling around Julie and Gracie and it being football season, moments like this were few and far between and he had to take advantage of them regardless of how he felt.

Tami smiled, kissing him back, a small moan vibrating in her throat. "I think we are safe. I'll lock the door. It's not like we haven't snuck around before." She walked to the door, turning the knob with a loud click. Her strut back to the bed excited him and he pulled her close to him, his hands working overtime as he felt her soft skin beneath him.

Their embrace was passionate and exhilarating, but Eric found himself grow out of breath quickly, his body tiring much faster than usual. Sweat poured from his brow and the aches in his legs and back made him push Tami away. Her surprised expression felt like a punch to his stomach, and he turned to his side to face away from her as he ran his hands through his moist hair.

"Eric, what is wrong?" Her fingers ran down his spine, sending a chill through him. "That was a little quick, wouldn't you say?"

He felt his cheeks warm up and he reached down on the floor for his boxers, pulling them up over his hips. He tried not to look her way as he strode to the bathroom, slamming the door behind him. The reflection in the mirror made him grimace. He ran his index finger under his eyes, tracing the black bags that formed beneath them.

Cupping his hands, he allowed the cold water from the sink trickle into his palms. Ducking his head, he splashed the water up onto his face and over his lips. It felt so good and refreshing that he did it again. Closing his eyes tightly, he savored the moment and gritted his teeth when Tami knocked on the door.

"Eric! What is wrong? Hon, open the door." Her voice was shaky and Eric hadn't realized how much worry he had caused her. It wasn't her fault that he had gotten so tired.

"Everything's fine. I'll be out in a minute." His voice was husky and he coughed to clear his throat. He glared up at himself again and leaned up against the counter top, both of his hands on either side of the faucet. Again, his actions were making him a stranger to himself. He had been exhausted countless times and still found enough strength and stamina to make love to Tami. Why was this time different?

He was coming down with a cold, that had to be the case. Football season was upon him and he always ran himself into the ground. His immune system was usually top notch, but with the added pressures of being athletic director he had finally pushed his body overboard.

Nodding to himself, he opened the bathroom door, revealing Tami on the other side, now wearing one of his old Dillon t-shirts and a pair of sweats. He parted his lips and a nervous laugh escaped him. Tami however, was not amused in the least bit as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Married eighteen years and you never once had to stop in the middle of sex. What's the problem, Eric?" She grabbed his arm, pulling him back to the bed. He sat down beside her on the edge, wishing he had an honest answer to her question.

Shrugging, he grabbed her hand and kissed it. "I think I'm coming down with something, that's all. I'll be fine. I just need to get some rest."

By her facial expression, Eric could tell that she wasn't buying his story and frankly, he wasn't in the mood to say anything else so he crawled to his side of the bed and buried himself under the comforter.

"Set the alarm for 6:30. I got game film in the morning."

* * *

"Eric! It's 6:45, don't you think you oughta to get up?" He felt a hand on his shoulder and jolted awake, his eyes widening. "Hon, I've been trying to get you up for fifteen minutes. I already got my shower. It's your turn."

He pulled a pillow over his face, groaning into it. "Just get ready and go to work. I'll get up in a little bit."

Tami pulled on him one more time and he resisted. "Okay then. I'll take Gracie to daycare and Julie will catch a ride with me." She paused. "Didn't you say you had game film this morning?"

Eric didn't move underneath the sheets. "Yeah. I'll get up in time." He instantly dozed back off, his body sinking low into the mattress. He always had a hard time getting out of bed in the morning, but this morning it was a task he could not accomplish at all.

At first he thought he was dreaming about a phone ringing, but when he opened his eyelids he could hear it near his head on his nightstand. Fumbling for the cell, he didn't even take a moment to check the caller ID to see who was calling.

"Hello?" His voice was raspy and thick.

"Eric, where in the hell are you? I thought you wanted to meet at 7:30 for game film!" It was Coach McGill, and Eric quickly threw the covers off and glanced at the alarm clock. It was 8:45 and he had yet to even get out of bed.

"Shit, Mac. I'm sorry, I overslept." And to be honest, he could probably sleep for five more hours. "I'll be down there as soon as I can."

"Okay Coach. See you in a little bit."

He closed the face of his phone, pinching the bridge of his nose as he stared up at the ceiling. Hitting the snooze a couple of times was understandable, but being over an hour late for work was unacceptable.

He fought against the will of his body and dragged himself to the shower, taking a quick one. The hot water was comforting, but stung his sore eyes as droplets dripped down from his eyelashes. He didn't even bother to shave and got dressed in his normal blue pullover and khaki shorts. He checked himself over in the mirror one last time, his five o'clock shadow making him look worse than he had the previous night. Maybe he should've shaved, but it was too late now. Before he went out to his truck he grabbed his mug of coffee, savoring the warm liquid. There was no way he could survive without caffeine to kick start him.

Eric had never been so mad at himself. He always preached about punctuality to his athletes and coaching staff and here he was being a hypocrite about it. He walked into the north side of the field house, noticing that Coach McGill and Coach Crawley were waiting in the film room.

"Hey guys, I'm sorry. I guess I needed the sleep."

McGill handed him the remote, his facial expression blank. "You sure you are okay, Coach?"

Eric drank down the last remnants of his coffee and sat down in a chair in the front row, almost wanting to dodge his assistant's question. "I'm fine. Let's get this day going. I'll be on time tomorrow."


	2. Chapter 2

Eric stared down at the clock on his computer screen. It was 12:00 noon and he was already wanting to call it a day. Sighing, he clicked off of the screen and glared at a stack of paperwork that seemed to be growing higher by the second. Why did he ever agree to take the athletic director position? So much more responsibility for not much more pay than what he had before this.

"Hon, you wanna go grab something to eat?" The voice of his wife startled him, but he was glad to see her walk around the corner. "Good to see you made it in to work. Were you late?" She sat down on the couch across from his desk.

"Yeah, a little bit. No big deal, we still got done what needed to be done." He paused and straightened some papers that were falling out of a manila folder. "Where did you want to eat?"

"I guess none other than the famous Alamo Freeze. I'm a little burned out on cafeteria food."

He grabbed his keys and sunglasses and followed her toward the Explorer. "Sounds good to me." Though deep inside, he wasn't hungry at all.

* * *

"What gives Eric? You haven't even touched your cheeseburger." Tami wiped her mouth with her napkin and replaced it back down into her lap. "Am I actually going to finish eating before you?"

Motioning to their waitress, he smiled and held his glass up. "Can I have another glass of water?" He turned back to Tami, his stomach churning like a washing machine at the sight of the greasy heaps of food in front of them. "I'm just not hungry."

Tami's stare made him feel self conscious so he sat back and folded his arms over his chest, trying hard to keep his cool. "Why does it matter if I'm not eating, Tami? Have you ever not been hungry?"

"Hon, I just made an observation. You just seem like you don't feel good lately, that's all. I mean, last night was odd. It's so unlike you to stop right in the middle…"

He put his hand up in front of him, stopping her before she could say more. "I don't want to talk about that." His voice was low and he adjusted the baseball cap on his head. "I think I'm just coming down with a cold or something. And no, I'm not going to go to the doctor so don't even suggest it." He grabbed his glass of water, the condensation dripping down his wrist as he took a long sip of the icy cold liquid, savoring it as it cooled him to the core. "I'll be fine."

"As long as it doesn't get out of hand."

He sighed and ran his hands over his face, feeling the stubble he had failed to shave off that morning under his fingertips. "What is the doctor going to tell me that I don't already know? Get some rest. Drink fluids. Take a few days off from work." He stopped himself, noticing how worked over he was getting.

"Uhh, he could give you medicine to help you get better for one thing."

Nodding, he reached for the check. "What a fun lunch this has been. You'd think my health was a fascinating subject." Sarcasm was thick in his tone as he stood up and threw some dollar bills on the table. "I'll be waiting out in the truck." He had regretted his outburst the moment it happened, but his pride didn't allow for him to turn around and apologize. Tami was just caring for him and he had blown it way out of proportion.

* * *

Eric wasn't sure what he wanted to do for practice. The sun beamed down on him as he weaved in and out of his players as they stretched and warmed up before their workout. A part of him wanted to just work with weights, but since Westerby would be there tomorrow it would be career suicide for him to not focus on the new plays he had drawn up.

His head pounded, and with each beat the pain accentuated down his neck and to his back. Even the backs of his eye sockets were sore from the discomfort within his skull. It felt like the beginning of a migraine and the four ibuprofen he had taken were not taking the ache away.

What would Coach McGill think if he went home early, leaving him to finish up the practice? It wouldn't be a good response from his staff, much less the fact that Buddy Garrity was in the stands along with some of the other boosters. He'd be reamed for sure.

"Gentlemen, let's get this done right so we can all go home." He grabbed a cup of water, drinking it down, missing the absence of his appetite. The last true meal he had was the night before when Tami made her meat loaf and he still felt full from it. "Riggins, call 'em out!"

Glancing down at his watch, he was caught off guard when McGill approached him. "You got somewhere to be, Coach?"

Eric shrugged. "No, why?"

"You keep looking at your watch."

Anger singed through Eric. "Maybe I'm just curious as to what time it is. What's it to ya anyway?"

"I was just making an observation." McGill walked away, mumbling something under his breath. Eric fought hard not to follow him and reprimand him in front of everyone and if it wasn't for the fact that he was feeling so horrible he probably would have.

Ducking his head, he stood in front of the team huddle, his eyes squinting through his sunglasses. They just weren't shielding the brightness enough. "What do ya boys say, we just run a couple of these new plays and hit the showers? I don't want you getting too tired before game day."

A few yes sirs could be heard throughout the crowd. "Okay then, let's get them right so we can get going. First string get up on the line." He caught a few glares as he walked back to the sideline. He swore he could hear a few snide comments as well, but they were inaudible and he couldn't be sure they were toward him. He knew wanting to let out early was out of character but he was to the point now where he didn't even feel like standing up.

Turning to Mac, he hunched over on a near bench. "You know these plays, right?" Of course he did, he was the offensive coordinator.

McGill nodded. "You alright?"

Eric ran his shoe through the white paint that marked the out of bounds area. He searched for an excuse but nothing came to mind. "I uhh…" He trailed off, eyeing his athletes that were not aware of his conversation with his assistant. "I think I'm going to head home. I'm not…" He didn't want to admit that he didn't feel good, but any idiot could tell that from the way he was acting. "I need to rest up for tomorrow. Can you take care of…"

Before he could finish, McGill cut him off. "Of course I can finish up. You think you should go to the doctor? Flu season is starting early they say. That's the last thing you need right now."

"Aw hell, Mac, it's nothin'. I just need to take it easy. I caught this before it got bad." He stopped himself, worrying about what the team would think about his early dismissal. "Just tell them I had a personal matter with the family."

"You got it, Eric."

* * *

It was only 3:45 when he got home which meant he had at least an hour to himself before the girls were home for the evening. Kicking off his shoes, he leaned over for a moment, almost too tired to even make it to his bed. He stared at it from the doorway for a moment, the mounds of blankets looking so comfortable.

It was so hot out that he tore his shirt off and stripped down to his boxers. The ceiling fan above him was running on low so he reached up at the chain and changed the setting to high. He fell backward into the middle of the bed, his eyes stinging as he squeezed them closed. He could smell the scent of Tami's perfume beside him, his mind racing to their conversation at lunch, and how she was pleading with him to see a doctor.

He grabbed the pillow and wrapped his arms around it, his body quickly jerking as he dozed off. A doctor. Tami knew him well enough to know that he hated doctors. He hated the waiting rooms with the annoying kids that ran around like chickens with their heads cut off as the parents sat and read magazines, ignoring the fact that their children were annoying the hell out of everyone else cramped in the small area. He hated the stupid paintings and posters up on the wall, put there to soothe the person that was about to be examined. Who were they kidding? The redundant sayings made him more angry than relaxed. And most of all, he hated sitting on the exam bed in the exam room with the same annoying posters plastered in his face.

What was the point of making an appointment with the office in the first place? He always arrived on time and still had to wait another hour just for the doctor to take one quick glance at him and tell him that he had a common cold and send him on his way.

His eyes jolted open and he quickly looked to the nightstand. It was 4:15 and he had probably slept all of five minutes. He tried to clear his mind from his frustrations but couldn't help but wonder what was truly going on with himself. He had been sick before, and never once did it drag him down this bad.

Moaning into the cotton sheet, he buried his face deep into the pillow and finally relaxed long enough to fall into oblivion.

* * *

"Jules, can you get Gracie out of her car seat? I've got a some groceries in the trunk I need to get out before the ice cream melts." She didn't notice Eric's truck in the driveway at first, but her stomach sank when she saw that he had beaten her home. He was never home this early, especially the day before a game.

"Mom, why is dad home?"

"I don't know, hon."

She strode through the entryway and put the ice cream and milk up. Still no sign of Eric. "Eric, are you here?" It was silent aside from Gracie and Julie in the living room. Peering into their bedroom, she saw his body sprawled out across the bed, his head under all of the pillows. "Eric?"

He didn't move at first so she sat down beside him, taking note to his near naked body. Sometimes he slept with just shorts on, but not in the middle of the afternoon with the chance of someone walking in on him. His breathing was deep and his nose whistled slightly as he exhaled. She ran her fingertips down his arm and over his chest, parting her lips as she said his name one more time, this time closer to his ear.

"Eric, hon? What time did you get home?"

He finally moved at her touch, his body shivering. "Tami?" His voice was thick and low. He didn't move his head out from under the bedclothes.

"Yeah. It's like 5:30. When did you get home?"

He lifted the top pillow off of himself and propped his head up with his hand. His appearance caught her off guard. His hair was shooting in every direction and his whiskers were much thicker and dark than she had thought they were at lunch. Maybe she just didn't notice. What scared her the most was how pale he looked. It was so unlike Eric to be so white in the middle of August. He tanned so easily and she had always envied his warm glow he obtained from just being outside for ten minutes. Right now he looked like a shut in.

"I got home around four or so. I left practice early." He slammed his head back into the mattress. "I thought I'd try and get some rest before the game before this cold gets out of hand."

She arched her eyebrow, her patience wearing thin. "A cold? Since when does a cold pull you away from work like this?" She stood up, throwing a pair of his sweats on the bed along with a T-shirt. "The girls are home, I suggest you get dressed."

He didn't move and his eyes were closed again. "Tami, what are you so mad about? Dammit, you should know I hate the stupid ass doctor! I'm not going!"

"How could you be so careless about your health?" She ran her hands through her hair, debating on leaving the room or staying there to argue with him about a lost cause. He could be so damn stubborn. "I need to go get dinner cooked. If you want to come see your family I suggest you put those clothes on and get your ass up."

She slammed the door behind her, wiping away a stray tear that had gathered in the corner of her eye. She knew something wasn't right and she hated the fact that Eric was denying it.

* * *

"Tami, I'm sorry. I'll see how I feel tomorrow. If things haven't gotten better, I'll make an appointment." He walked up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist. She was cooking stew and normally his stomach would growl just at the sight of it, but it didn't look appealing to him. He'd have to choke some down to not worry her more. "I got some good sleep in today. I think that's all I needed."

Tami reached behind his head, her fingers streaming through his hair, her touch soothing his mild headache. "You do this every time you get sick. You let it get really bad before you do something. The idea is to catch it before it gets out of control."

He sat down on a barstool and stared down at the sports section of the Dillon Chronicle. There was much anticipation about the game tomorrow night, but he usually tried to stay away from media hype. "How much longer 'till supper?"

"It's actually ready. Can you set the table?"

He stood up, feeling the urge to drink down more water. No matter how much liquid he put away his tongue still felt like sandpaper.

Julie helped him set the plates and silverware out and to his surprise, he ate a decent meal. He skipped over the potatoes and carrots and picked out most of the meat, which caused a spat between he and Julie. Her favorite part was the meat as well, but he beat her to it, leaving a few scraps in the bottom of the pan. His body literally was craving it, and it felt so good to get something solid in his gut.

Thankfully, Tami didn't say much more about it the rest of the night, and he snuggled in beside her on the bed, his lips caressing the nape of her neck as his hands skimmed down the small of her back. "You forgive me for last night?" He buried his face in her hair that flowed over the pillow, the scent of fresh flowers relaxing him.

"I forgive you for last night. I'm just pissed that you could be so careless about your health."

"Dammit Tami, can we not talk about that?" He grabbed the TV remote, flipping the channel to the news. "It would be nice to go five minutes without you bringing it up." He pulled away from her. The TV wasn't interesting and judging by the silent treatment that Tami was giving him, she wasn't up for talking it out so he pulled the covers up over his head and instantly went to sleep. Something told him he probably wouldn't feel any better in the morning, but he definitely wouldn't tell her that.


	3. Chapter 3

"Hon, you wanna go get breakfast with me after you drop the girls off?" Eric sat on the edge of the bed and tied his shoes, fighting through the small aches in his joints. He couldn't lead on that he was having a hard time waking up yet again.

"Where'd you have in mind?"

Shrugging, he walked back into the bathroom to apply some after-shave and deodorant. "Hell I don't know. I'm craving steak and eggs." He leaned over and kissed her. "Besides, I owe it to you for being such an ass last night. What do ya say? I don't need to be at work till after 8:30 anyway."

She sipped down her coffee and nodded. "Okay. We can go do that little café down the street from the school. I heard they have really good breakfast. I'll meet you there around 7:30. I think Julie is catching a ride with Matt and Landry anyway. I'm going to go drop Gracie off, see ya in a bit." She kissed him one more time and exited the bathroom.

Eric glared at his reflection in the mirror and grimaced. He had at least shaved, but looked as pale as a sheet. How much longer could he go ignoring the problem before something really did happen? He had to at least get through tonight. Westerby was a big game and he couldn't be absent. It would be career suicide.

* * *

"Get everyone gathered up at the field house around 3:30. I want to have a short meeting before they go home before the game." Eric didn't look up from his paperwork but was speaking to Coach McGill who made himself at home on one of Eric's couches. "Going to have a quick run through of some plays." He looked up. "How did the remainder of practice go yesterday?"

"Everyone wanted to know where you were."

"What did you tell them?" Eric leaned forward in his desk, his curiosity running wild with the possibilities of what Mac could have said.

"Just that you had something personal you had to take care of. I had them do some of the plays and then we ran a couple of suicides. Pretty basic. We called it a day around 4:30 or so."

A deep pain shot through Eric's midsection and he pushed forward on his desk again, his legs kicking up from the abrupt discomfort. He wasn't sure if Mac had noticed or not. His saliva glands kicked in and his mouth grew moist. Nausea hit him hard and he wasn't even sure if he'd make it to the bathroom in time. Hunching himself over, he reached for the wastebasket in the far corner, the contents of his breakfast shooting up his throat.

It burned all the way up and he heaved every bit of the food he had in his system. Pausing for a moment, more gags erupted from his stomach, but nothing was left but some water. He grabbed a towel in his drawer and wiped his mouth and nose clean, afraid to see McGill's reaction.

"Eric, what the hell? You got the stomach virus or something?" McGill was now standing, but was keeping his distance.

Eric waved his hand in front of him, unable to straighten his posture. He wanted to make sure he was done vomiting. "I think it was something I ate. I knew it didn't taste right." His throat was sore from the acid and he searched for the bottle of water on his desktop. It was room temperature but tasted good enough for him.

He was finally able to sit upright, but his posture slouched in his chair. The reluctant facial expression on his assistant's face made him explain himself further. "I took Tami out to that restaurant down the road. I ordered a ton of food. I knew it'd be a mistake."

"Just as long as it's not contagious."

Eric shook his head no. "It's not. Make sure you pass the word along that I wanna meet in the field house. Shut the door behind you."

He closed his eyes and heard the light tap of the blinds against the window of his door as Mac left. Letting out a deep breath, his mind began to race with the possibilities of what could be wrong with him.

"Just get through tonight." His own voice echoed in his head.

* * *

"Tami, have you seen my new shirt I brought home the other day?" Eric rummaged through his closet, only finding his collared shirts from last season. Pushing all the hangers to the side, the sound of the metal scraping against the rod made his ears sting. "It's got yellow on the sleeves."

Tami walked into the bedroom, Gracie in her arms. "I think it's in the washroom. It needs to be ironed."

"I don't have time to iron it." He walked into the small room and squinted from the bright light above him. The shirt was definitely wrinkled so he threw it in the dryer to try and smooth it out. He had never been one to master the art of ironing and heaven forbid he ask Tami to do it.

"Eric? What in the hell is this?" Cringing at her yell, he strode back to the bedroom, smiling at Gracie who was lying in the middle of their bed. "Did you forget to flush or what?"

He ducked his head into the bathroom. It wasn't like he had never forgotten to flush before, it just escaped him. "I'm sorry, but I have a huge game on my mind. How hard is it to just push the handle down and let it go?" He reached down to flush, but her hand stopped his.

"Normally I would but look at it." Her nose wrinkled up as she observed his urine.

His cheeks warmed up but had to admit that the coloring wasn't a normal thing. "I uhh…" He ran his hand down the back of his head. "I think I'm dehydrated. It's been over 100 degrees at practice everyday. I'll make sure I drink a lot of water tonight."

Tami glared at him from the corner of her eye. "Eric, I don't want to nag. I know that's how you have been seeing this, but I'm really worried about you." She walked back into the bedroom and he followed. He was really starting to worry himself, but he'd of course never admit that out loud to her.

He sat down on the bed, untying his shoes. She followed suit, her right hand running down the side of his face. Her palms were so smooth and he turned his face inward to kiss her fingertips. She quickly pulled away, her expression surprised.

"Eric, you have a fever! You are burning up." She stood up, pulling open a drawer in their dresser. "Let me take your temperature."

"Hell no. I gotta get going." He glanced down at his watch and quickened his pace down the hallway to grab his shirt that still was a tad bit wrinkled, but good enough for his standards. He pulled off his current shirt and ducked his head in the other one.

"You are going to go to the game?"

He smirked at her and grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator. "I can't miss a game, Tam. You know that." He paused as he sipped down half of the liquid. Water had never tasted so good to him. "Look, I'll go into that walk in clinic tomorrow morning. They are open on Saturdays, right?"

Tami nodded, her hand covering her mouth as her gaze stayed on the floor. She looked to be on the verge of tears so Eric pulled her close to him, his chin resting on the top of her head. "Everything is fine. I'll go tomorrow morning, regardless of how I'm feeling, okay?" His hands were on either side of her face and he lifted her head to his. "I'd kiss you but if it's contagious you might not want to share germs with me."

She closed her eyes and pushed away from him, her knuckles digging into his chest. "I'm not finding this amusing at all, Eric. Something you think is just a cold or the flu could be something life threatening. Pneumonia! West Nile! Anything. And you are standing here like it's nothing." A tear finally trickled down her cheek, leaving a small trail of mascara near the bridge of her nose.

He gripped his water bottle tightly, so hard that the plastic crackled beneath his grasp. "Would you just step off of this subject? All I hear from you is nag, nag, nag!" With his free hand he motioned his fingers like a mouth that continued to talk. "Skipping the game is not an option. If whatever is wrong with me doesn't kill me you know Buddy Garrity and the boosters would! And now I'm going to be late!" He tried to put a lid on his anger and frustration but he threw the half-full bottle of water against the cabinet.

Without saying another word, he grabbed his duffel bag and slammed the door behind him.

* * *

The stands were packed as the team ran from underneath the tunnel and through the Dillon Panther banner on the north end of the football field. Eric slow jogged behind his athletes, trying to contain as much energy as he could. His eyes scanned the sea of Panther blue and yellow, spotting Tami about four rows up on the fifty-yard line. She clutched Gracie on her side and Julie was waving a flag.

He felt bad for earlier, but the thought of how Tami had been acting lately was enough to make him pull his hair out. Averting his attention back to the huddle, his vision blurred for a second. He pressed his fingertips into his lids, nodding off the wave of nausea and exhaustion that hit him blind side.

"Let's go gentlemen. Captains, if we lose the coin toss choose the south side for kickoff."

He shoved his playbook in his back pocket and folded his arms over his chest; the back of his shirt already drenched in sweat. Dillon won the coin toss and chose to receive first, so he called up special teams for the kickoff.

The football sailed through the sky and Roberts caught it on the four-yard line, returning it for a measly six yards to the ten.

"Son, what in the hell were you thinking, running into coverage like that? There was a gap straight through the middle. Now our field position is horrible." Eric followed the kick returner down the sideline. "Don't run into guys wearing opposite color jersey's!" In the midst of the hustle he found Saracen. "Run triple option right. Riggins is your man. Release the ball quick, get it down the field. You ready for this, son?"

Saracen nodded as he put his helmet on. "Yes sir."

"Go get 'em!"

At first he thought everything was fine and that he was working through the exhaustion. Things were running smoothly and he felt good, but when he stopped pacing the tension in his head grew tight, like someone inside his skull was tying knots on his brain. He bit down on the inside of his cheek and started to walk along the sideline again, not allowing his body to slow down and urge for him to sleep.

He glanced up at the crowd again and back down to his shoes. The football field began to spin in front of him. He tried to catch himself on a nearby table to help with the vertigo but his knees buckled and his legs felt like noodles. The next thing he knew he was lying on his back, the bright lights of the stadium stinging his eye sockets.

Mumbled voices were overhead and he could hear a few faint people yelling his name but it seemed so distant, like he was in a tunnel. From what he could tell, the crowd was silent too, but he wasn't too sure on that. McGill was kneeling over him but when he spoke it sounded like slow motion and within a few seconds his vision grew black.

* * *

Tami wasn't sure if she was seeing things right. Did Eric just collapse? Was he shoved by one of the players? Swallowing hard, she handed Gracie over to Julie and made her way down the steps when she saw that he wasn't moving and a crowd had circled around him.

Everything was a blur and she couldn't even remember the walk down to the field. A few of the football players made a path for her and she knelt down beside Eric. He was completely out of it, not even responding to her grasp on his hand.

"Eric?" Her voice trembled and she looked up at McGill and back down at her motionless husband. "Can you hear me?" She heard someone yell for the paramedics in the distance. A lump formed in her throat and she blinked back a tear that warmed the corner of her eye. All of this denial and ignoring the problem had caught up to him. She just couldn't believe it had gotten carried this far.

"Everyone move out of the way." Two paramedics pushed through the mob of people, backboard and stretcher in hand. Tami moved to the side, down near his legs.

She was in no way familiar with medical terminology or how the process worked, but her stomach was in knots as she watched them go to work on Eric. What freaked her out more than anything was how silent the once rambunctious crowd had become. She could practically hear a pin drop.

"Coach Taylor, can you hear me?" The younger medic leaned over him and lifted his top eyelid, flashing a light into his green irises. Still no response.

"Let's get him on the backboard." They supported his head and legs and rolled him on his side, and a loud groan erupted from deep inside of Eric's throat.

At first it pained Tami to hear the agony within him, but it was comforting to know that he was conscious again. She scooted across the grass, getting eye level with him. "Eric? Hon.." She trailed off, realizing she was in the way of the medics. "Everything is going to be okay." He had no reaction to her, just a confused daze. His eyes slowly fluttered closed again. She squeezed his hand and let it go when they pushed his body back against the wooden board.

So bad did she want to follow them into the back of the ambulance but there was no way there would be enough room for them to work with her back there. She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see McGill at her side, his head ducked low.

"Need a ride to the hospital?" He held his hat down at his side.

"I have my car here. I need to go get Julie and Gracie." She spoke so quiet that she wasn't even sure if Mac had heard her, but he nodded and gave her a small hug. "You gonna go too?"

"Yeah, they are gonna postpone the game for us." He began to walk away but Tami reached out, tugging at his arm. "Thanks for offering me a ride. I'll see you there."

"No problem."

It had to be exhaustion, it just had to be. He had worn himself ragged and this was his body's way of forcing him to get some sleep. She ran her fingers over her mouth, bracing herself before she faced her daughters. She couldn't show how upset she was on the surface, it would only send more unnecessary panic to everyone.


	4. Chapter 4

Tami paced back and forth in the waiting room, slowly sipping on a luke warm cup of coffee. Thankfully, Julie had taken Gracie home. She was getting cranky and despite the fact that Julie was reluctant, she did Tami a favor by watching her. There wasn't much Julie could do at the hospital anyway, and she'd be the first person Tami would call when she found any type of news on Eric.

Grimacing at the bitter flavor on her tongue, she chunked the remnants of the dark liquid into the trash can and sat down hard in a chair adjacent to a TV that had some old rerun of I Love Lucy running across it. Coach McGill was there, but had stepped out to make a phone call. Buddy Garrity and Mayor Rodell were on their way, and frankly, she wished they wouldn't come at all. Deep down they didn't care about the overall welfare of Eric, they just wanted to see if their season was down the drain if Eric had to be absent from his coaching duties. In fact, she figured that's how most of the town was probably thinking.

She hated how fake they were as they walked by and gave her reassuring glances. It had been thirty minutes since they had arrived at the ER and still not a single word on him.

She stood up and began to pace again. "All that walking isn't going to make the docs work any faster." She recognized the voice right off and it felt like a brick fell to the bottom of her stomach. It was Buddy.

Turning around, she forced a smile and shook his hand. "Hey Buddy. Mayor." She nodded in Mayor Rodell's direction. "You guys don't have to wait around. I'll be sure to let Eric know that you stopped by."

"Don't be silly, Tami. We are here for you." Buddy guided her back to the crowded waiting area. "Just have a seat. You need anything? A snack? Some coffee?"

The scent of his cologne made her nauseous so she said yes to both questions just to get him away from her. "That would be great."

"I'll be back in a minute."

She buried her face in her hands and closed her eyes. It felt so much like a dream that she was tempted to pinch herself to make sure it wasn't. The walls around her felt as if they were slowly moving in on her. Why was Eric so damn stubborn? If he wouldn't have put off a doctor's office visit he probably wouldn't be laid up in the ER like this.

"Mrs. Taylor?"

Glancing up from her hands, her heart skipped a beat when she saw a man in a white coat standing at the entrance of the room. "Yes sir."

"Can you come with me?"

She felt as if she were floating and now she wasn't so sure she wanted to hear what had happened to him. It was a bittersweet situation. On one hand she had to know but on the other if she didn't know and didn't find out than maybe there wasn't anything wrong with him at all.

"I'm Doctor Lee." He extended his hand and she returned with a light handshake. "As of right now, we aren't exactly sure what has happened to your husband." He paused and sipped on a small styro-foam cup of coffee.

"I… I don't understand, what do you mean you don't know?"

"We are running several tests. I put priority so we should know within the hour."

She ran her fingers through her hair and turned her back to the doctor for a moment. Grabbing a handrail, she processed the words the doctor had relayed to her. She faced him again. "So it's not anything like the flu?"

Doctor Lee shook his head no. "I'm afraid not. We believe it's something a little more complex."

* * *

The first thing Eric noticed was a bright light above his head that only accentuated the sharp pains in his head that felt like hammers inside of him. Squinting, he shielded his face with his left forearm.

"Ugh…" He moaned as he shifted his weight in his bed. He had no recollection of how he had gotten there but felt the worst he had ever felt in his entire life. If someone had come in and told him a car had hit him he would definitely believe it.

The inside of his mouth felt pasty and his throat was like sandpaper. Glancing to his side, he saw no sign of water on the bedside table. The bed rails were pulled up so he wrapped his fingers around the handles and pulled his body upward to get higher up on the bed but his back skid down the sheets into the same position he was in to begin with.

His breathing became labored and he clutched his side to compose himself. The pressure between his eyes felt so tight that he would swear that his skull would explode at any minute. Turning onto his side, he felt the tension of something in the back of his hand. It was an IV line that led up to a machine behind him.

"What the…" The rubber chord tugged at him, causing a small sting where the needle was inserted into his vein. Lifting his arm, he allowed enough slack in the line and was able to get comfortable. He buried his face into the pillow but felt so badly that sleep was beyond him.

"I see you are awake now." A young nurse reached across his bed and adjusted something on a monitor. "How are you feeling, Coach?"

"I uhh…" He closed his eyes to get away from the light. "Can you please turn that light off?" His voice was barely audible and came out in a rush of breath. He held his hands up to his temples.

"I can dim it, but we need some light in here."

Even the slight change in brightness offered him some comfort. "You got any water?" Even the simple task of talking was too much for him.

"Sure, I'll get you some in just a minute." She jotted a few notes down on a clipboard. "You didn't answer me when I asked you how you are feeling. Can you open your eyes for me so I can look into them?"

She clicked a flashlight on and it took all he had not to close his eyes again. "I'm hurting. What happened?"

She put the light back in her pocket and wrote more stuff down. He wanted so badly to look at the chart but it was like a secret that only select people could read. He hated that. It was all about him, what was the harm in giving him a glance?

"I'll give you some Demerol to ease the pain. The doctor didn't okay morphine just yet. I think they want to run a few more tests on you." She pushed down on his IV site. "I'll be back in a minute with that water. Your wife is outside, are you up for visitors?"

Maybe she'd have some answers. "Yeah." He pulled the sheet up to his neck, eyeing the doorframe. He wasn't ready for the "I told you so's" or the snide looks, but she was right. He let this get way out of hand. He felt embarrassed about the whole thing. He wanted to avoid a quick visit to the doctor and now look where it had landed him.

"Hey Eric." Her gentle voice soothed him. "How are you?" She sat down next to the bed, her fingertips brushing against his forehead.

The nurse brought in a small pitcher of water along with a few cups. "Here ya go." She made her exit, leaving them alone again.

"Thanks." He impatiently waited as Tami poured him some. It was cold and he drank it too fast, cringing at the sharp headache that intensified with each sip. "What in the hell happened? Last thing I remember I was telling Saracen to run a play. And then I woke up here." He had to stop to catch his breath. Rather than feeling thirty-seven, he felt like he was in his eighties.

"You passed out on the field. At first.." She trailed off and looked up at the ceiling to keep a tear from falling. "At first I thought a player pushed you. But then I saw you weren't moving."

He scratched his eyebrow with his thumb and stared at the blank TV. The game. Had they kept playing or was it ruled a forfeit? "Tami, did they stop the game or did they keep playing?" He took in a deep breath. "Please tell me they didn't forfeit."

"Eric, I think you have bigger things to worry about. They are in the other room running tests to see what's wrong with you. This isn't just a case of the flu. I don't think they'd be treating you this way if it was." She stood up and pulled her cell phone out of her purse. "I gotta call Julie. She's at home with Gracie."

Eric began to say something in his defense but she walked out of the room before he could get a word in edgewise. The Demerol that the nurse had given him had already worn off and his head pounded. What was wrong with the fact that he was worried about the team? He didn't want their season ruined because he was in the hospital. McGill was well qualified to coach in his absence. He just wanted some damn answers, and no one would answer anything, not even the outcome of the game against Westerby.

"Julie is gonna come up here in a little bit. Gracie is asleep right now. She's going to let her get a little bit of rest." Tami's voice jolted him out of a light sleep and made him jump under the sheets. "And about the game. They postponed it to a later date."

He chewed on the inside of his cheek and glared at the dim light that was causing discomfort to him again. "Go ahead with the I told you so's."

If looks could kill he would be a dead man. It was an all too familiar glare that literally made him know that if it were possible for him to suck the words back in his mouth, it would be wise to do so.

Her brow creased. "Eric, I'm not going to do that." Her hand ruffled his hair again, easing some of the tension from his headache.

He put his hand up to stop her. "You were right. If I would've gone in the minute I felt something wasn't right I wouldn't be laid up in this bed." It was so hard to keep his eyes open that he allowed them to close. He would go through waves of exhaustion with times where he felt okay, but not near one hundred percent. His hands gripped the bed rails again.

"Eric, you don't know that. They don't even know what's wrong." She pulled his fingers away from the metal and intertwined her hand with his. Her palms were so smooth that it made him very comfortable. "I'm just so scared. I wish they'd tell us something." Her voice quivered and despite the fact that he wasn't looking at her, he knew she was crying.

"It'll be… okay." His words were short pants again, and before he knew it he dozed off again, his body finally winning the battle over his consciousness.

* * *

Tami had decided to go back to the waiting room to wait on Julie. She had called about ten minutes ago and said she was on her way. She didn't sit down, but noticed that the area was much more full than before she had gone to see Eric. The atmosphere was tense, like everyone had been talking about her and went silent the moment they saw her. She didn't care though, she had so much more on her mind than Dillon gossip.

"Any word?" McGill approached her, pulling her out of her daze.

"None. They are still waiting on some tests to come back." She forced a smile but it felt so fake that it descended into a frown. Who was she kidding? She couldn't even pretend to be strong in this situation. "He's sleeping right now. He was talking to me a few minutes ago. Worried about the damn football game." A small laugh escaped from her lips. "The man is in the ER and all he thinks about is the game."

McGill laughed with her and patted his hat down at his leg. She could tell he was nervous. "That's good. At least he woke up. He'll be okay Tami. The man is tough as nails. I've known him a long time. He won't stay down for long."

"Thanks, Mac. I appreciate that." She pulled him in for a sideways hug. At least Mac's concern was truly genuine, she could tell that much. Julie had made her way through the entrance of the hospital. "If you'll excuse me, I need to check on my daughters." She grabbed Gracie from her, resting her on her shoulder. She was half-asleep. The poor baby was so tired.

"Have the doctors come in yet?" Julie clutched the diaper bag and kept her eyes downcast as they passed by the waiting area.

"No. It should be any minute, I hope."

Eric was still asleep when they went back into the exam room. The faint sound of the monitors beeping around him was all that could be heard, along with his deep and labored breathing. Tami sat down in the same chair and laid Gracie across her lap. She wondered how kids could sleep so heavily at times. Julie was on the other side of the bed, her face full of worry and questions.

"Mom, what is wrong with him?" Her voice was shaky. "I… I uhh… don't understand."

"I wish I could tell you hon, but we just have to be patient. The doctors are working on it." She ran her hands over Gracie's fuzzy hair and said a silent prayer. She wanted some answers and her patience was wearing thin. She hated the waiting game.

* * *

"Eric? Coach? Can you open your eyes for me?" At first Eric thought it was a dream, that someone was screaming at him in a nightmare. The annoying light overhead was enough realization for him to know that it wasn't, however.

He licked his lips and immediately reached for his water. It was warm but still refreshing for his standards. "Unh…" He squinted at the light that was no longer dim. "Shit… turn that fu…" He stopped himself from cursing when he noticed that Julie, Gracie and Tami were in the room with him, as well as a few doctors he didn't recognize. "The light. Can you turn it off?" He put his forearm over his eyes.

"We'll dim it for you." A man spoke up. "I'm Doctor Lee. How are you doing, Coach?"

Eric frowned and wished everyone would stop asking him that. He was in the hospital for crying out loud. "Great. Just great." He really wasn't up to talking much at all. He just wanted to get back to sleep.

The doctor gave a small laugh. "We ran a few tests. As of right now, we are still unsure of what's going on. We are going to run another blood test, there's only one problem with it."

Eric groaned and slammed his arm back down beside him but didn't reply. Of course there was a problem, it was the story of his life. Staying quiet, he waited for him to finish the news.

The doctor continued. "It takes twenty-four hours for the results to get back. I can tell you what we might suspect what it is. Of course, it's just speculation. We can hold off and wait until the diagnosis comes through if you'd like."

Eric pinched the bridge of his nose and bit his bottom lip. Again, he didn't say anything and thankfully Tami filled the silent void. "Please, tell us something."

"The first possibility is Hereditary Spherocytic Hemolytic Anemia. It's common in children moreso than adults, but it's a possibility that it was never detected if that is in fact, what you have. It has to do with blood cells. It can be life threatening but easy to treat." He paused, his face growing dim. "Another suspected problem could be leukemia. It's not one hundred percent certain, but we can't rule it out just yet. Those are two things we are looking into. It could be any number of conditions. Mononucleosis. You are smack dab in the middle of a football season. It's common for guys like you to run their systems down, so you might just need some time to rest and get your energy back. The important thing is you are here getting treated. We probably caught whatever it is in time to fix it."

Eric's stomach tightened. He had no idea what the first thing was that Dr. Lee had spouted off but the mention of leukemia made him want to toss the water in his stomach all over the floor. Bile was thick in the back of his throat and he was too scared to look at Julie or Tami. But he did anyway. Julie was facing away but from the way her shoulders were slumped over she wasn't taking it well. Tami sat motionless so he reached over and held her hand. Her skin was cold and clammy.

"I'm sorry that the tests take so long, but we have to make sure we cover every base." Dr. Lee walked toward the door. "If you have any questions, don't hesitate to send them my way."

Eric didn't take his eyes off of Tami, but acknowledged Dr. Lee with a nod. "Thank you, Doctor." He whispered it, but knew the other man had heard him.

The fact that he had to wait so long for answers was pure torture. It would be the longest twenty-four hours of his life.


	5. Chapter 5

Eric was so tired, but was finding it hard to fall asleep. He heard the clicking of a keyboard somewhere within the room and saw that Julie was typing away on her laptop, her brow creased in concentration. Tami wasn't there. Clearing his throat, he tried to get her attention but she didn't look up from the bright screen that cascaded through the now dark and quiet room.

"Hey monkey noodle, where's your mom?"

She still didn't look his way. "She took Gracie for a walk around the hospital." She shifted her weight and sat Indian style across the chair. "So dad, I'm researching what could be wrong with you."

Eric fumbled with the IV chord, cursing it under his breath. With modern technology he assumed they could figure out a way to make the lines easier to manage. "Oh?" He wasn't sure if he wanted to hear about her findings or not.

"Yeah. One is something to do with your blood cells being all wrong." She flipped her hair over her shoulder. "And I can see you are hardly listening."

He hadn't realized that he fell asleep right in the middle of their conversation, and felt guilty. "I'm sorry Julie." He whispered into his pillow. "What time is it?"

"It's a little after midnight."

Grimacing, he rolled over onto his back. He just couldn't get comfortable, regardless of how he laid. It hurt to lie on his left side, like he had been kicked there and it was extremely sore. "You don't have to stay up here all night. Go home and get some sleep."

Julie looked at him from the corner of her eye and shut her laptop. She scooted closer to his bed and grabbed his hand. Her hands were cold and soft. "I'd be a basket case at the house. I'd stay up here all night if I could, but I'm going to take Gracie home and watch her for you guys so mom can be here." Her grip tightened around his fingers. "Just get better. I hate seeing you this way."

He pulled his arm around her and brought her near him, feeling her hair tickle his face. She smelled like perfume and the outdoors mixed into one, but it was refreshing compared to the dull hospital scent he had already grown tired of. "This is just a hiccup. I'll be out of here soon." He kissed her on the cheek. "Thanks for helping your mom out. I really appreciate it. I love you."

"I love you too, dad."

"Aww, look at you two." Tami entered the threshold, cradling Gracie up against her chest. "She's out like a light. Jules, you think you could take her home now? I'll call you if we hear anything else."

Julie took Gracie from her and smiled back at Eric. "I'll be up here first thing in the morning. And mom, I don't care how late it is, call me."

"Will do, hon. Get some sleep."

Eric gave a small wave and it took up what little energy he had left. He tried not to show the discomfort on his face but Tami could read him like a book.

"What's wrong?"

He didn't answer at first, but a dull ache roared through his midsection. He ran his hand over his ribcage. "My side is hurting."

"I'll get your nurse." She pushed the button on his remote and an annoyed voice came over the line. She requested the nurse and she had reported to his room about ten minutes after they had called down to the nurse's station.

"Coach, what can I do for you?" It was a different nurse this time since he had been moved up to a room and away from the ER.

"My side…" He trailed off and a shard of pain hit him hard like a train when she turned the light on. He had grown quite comfortable with the darkness and it caught him off guard. "I can't get comfortable."

The nurse lifted up his gown and gently pushed down on his side, making him groan out in pain. "I can give you some more Demerol."

"Why is he hurting right there?" Tami leaned over the bed, getting a look at the problem area.

"It feels like his spleen is enlarged so it's going to cause some discomfort. He's also pretty jaundiced."

Again, the annoying flashlight gleamed into his eye and this time he didn't allow it, closing his eyelids tightly. What more could they tell from that? Was it in their protocol to find unusual ways to piss the patients off? Turning his head away, he pulled the sheet up over his face.

"Eric, I'm just checking your eyes. They look a little yellow too."

He didn't respond and kept still. Maybe if he wished hard enough she'd go away and he could get back to doing the only thing he desired at the moment, and that was sleeping. She had given him the dose of Demerol, he could tell by the drunken feeling that coursed through his veins. Too bad the drug only gave him relief for around fifteen minutes. He'd definitely be asleep by then.

"Nurse, what does it mean when he's yellow like that?" Tami's remark was distant to him and he really couldn't understand her.

"It could mean a number of things. We won't be too sure until we get the tests back. I just have to make note of it for the doctor." Again, the voices sounded like they were across the hall, and to Eric it was like they were in a different language altogether.

The twinge of pain had subsided. His body sank low and his legs stretched out over the full length of the bed. Drifting off into slumber, the last thing he heard were comments about his coloring, and frankly, he could care less for the time being.

* * *

How the nurses and hospital staff expected their patients to get rest at night was beyond Tami. It felt like they were in and out of the room every hour, prodding on Eric and checking things that she didn't understand. From what she could tell, Eric had slept through most of it, but there were times that she wanted to know how.

There was no extra bed for her, but she was counting her lucky stars. Normally they didn't allow visitors in the ICU unit after hours, but for some reason they had pulled in a chair that folded out into a cot for her. There wasn't a whole lot of room and she felt guilty when the workers had to push past her. None ever complained though, and she couldn't even begin to think about going home at the moment. Eric was so incoherent that she feared that she'd never get any information on his condition.

She picked up her cell phone from the table and squinted into the bright screen. It was a little after four am, but it felt much later. She had probably gotten a total of thirty minutes of sleep, so she decided to get up and take a short walk through the halls.

Things were so different at night. The hustle and bustle was kept to a minimum and there was absolutely no chatter over the loud speakers. She had never noticed it when she was in labor with Gracie, but her standpoint was different when she wasn't the patient.

She stopped at the nurse's station, forcing a smile at the ward clerk who was working frantically on a computer. "Did you need help with anything?"

Tami shook her head. "No thanks, I couldn't sleep so I decided to get up for a bit. Thank you." She continued down the hall but stopped in her tracks when she read the sign above her. She was entering the children's wing. She instantly thought of Julie and Gracie. Having Eric in the hospital was bad enough, she couldn't even begin to comprehend the pain these people endured when their kids were brought in for things bad enough to be admitted.

She suddenly felt claustrophobic, so she turned around and went back to Eric's bedside. He was still sound asleep, a small whistle blowing from his nose every time he exhaled. She ran her hand down his jaw line and over his neck. He was sweating and his skin was hot under her palm. She remembered them mentioning that he was running a low fever, but this didn't feel like it was low.

She searched for the remote, digging under his sheets. He was lying on the chord but she pulled hard, surprised to see that it didn't even phase him. Normally Eric was such a light sleeper. She pushed the red button to call the nurse and waited.

"What can we do for you?"

Tami cringed at the loud voice. Eric's eyelids fluttered open for a split second and he mumbled something inaudible, but went right back to sleep.

"Yeah. Can we get his nurse down here?"

"I'll page her."

"Thanks." Tami sat back on her cot.

The nurse had responded a lot quicker than earlier, but she looked a little more frazzled and rushed. "Hey Mrs. Taylor. What did you need?" Her tone was cheerful despite the fact that she looked exhausted.

"He feels really hot. I wasn't sure if that was normal or not."

The nurse pulled out a metal thermometer from her pocket. Tami recognized it from when she was in the hospital having Gracie, a new kind that didn't require waking the patient up. She ran the end with the pad on it over his brow and down his cheek and glanced down at the small screen on it.

Her brow creased. "Yeah, it went up a bit." She reached for his IV bag, running her fingers along the fine print. "I'm going to give him some more antibiotics to help his body fight off what's causing it. I'll let the doctor know when he makes his rounds."

"Thank you."

The nurse patted Tami's arm. "Has he been asleep all night?"

"Yeah. Like a rock." Tami looked across at her husband. Even she could see the yellow tint of his skin in the dark. It was so unlike him to not have a golden tan in the middle of summer. He almost looked like a stranger to her.

"That's good. The more sleep he gets the better it is for his body to heal from whatever the problem is." She walked to the door. "Call me if you need anything. I'll be here until seven."

"Thanks." Tami closed her eyes and nestled her head down into the flat pillow that seemed to have no padding in it at all. At least his night nurse was friendly and was making his stay bearable.

She tried to ease her mind of all her worry, but it raced with the possibilities of what was wrong with him. Her main hope was they had caught it in time.

* * *

"Well, what time does the doctor do his rounds?" Tami's voice was the first thing Eric heard when he woke up, and the bright lights above him had returned. Squinting, he pulled the cover up over his face, hoping that no one had realized he was awake.

Stretching out, his body ached like he had a strenuous workout from the day before. He didn't feel entirely refreshed, but a tad bit better than he had in a long time. The smell of food lingered beside him and his stomach grumbled.

"Eric?" He felt a firm grasp on his calf muscle. "You awake?"

Pulling the sheet down, he saw Tami and a nurse he didn't recognize. "Yeah." His voice was scratchy and Tami handed him a cup of water.

"This is your day nurse, Sandra."

Eric nodded and finished off the water before replacing it on the table, noticing a plate with a plastic cover over it. Sandra wheeled the table to him. "They just delivered it so it should still be warm."

He pulled the cover off and watched the steam lift off of the food. It was scrambled eggs with a few strips of bacon. On a normal day that would have never filled him up. He dug his fork into the pile of yellow, forgetting that Sandra and Tami were still standing at the foot of his bed. Looking up, he felt his cheeks warm up.

"Eric, do you need anything else? I was just in here checking over everything." Sandra looked to be about his age with short red hair and glasses. From his first impression, she seemed like a nice lady.

Shaking his head, he swallowed down the tasteless eggs. They needed salt, but he dare not ask. "I'm okay. Thanks." The bacon was tolerable, so he ate the three strips. They were a bit crispier than he liked, but this wasn't a diner.

"You are still running a small fever so we are going to continue to give you some antibiotics for that. Are you in any pain?"

"Just a small headache. I'm still pretty tired too."

Sandra held her clipboard under her arm and smiled. "Okay. I think the doctor will make his rounds here pretty soon. They put a rush on your blood test, so he could possibly have the results. I'm not promising anything though."

"Thank you, Sandra." Tami followed her out of the room and returned after a few seconds. Her brow was creased with worry and she sat down in the fold out couch by the window, her stare down below to the street.

"I think I'd rather starve than eat this crap." Eric shoved the table away and let out a small belch. His stomach felt full despite the fact that he only ate the bacon. "How'd you sleep last night?" He tried grabbing her hand but she was out of his reach. She wasn't even looking in his direction for him to get her attention.

"I didn't sleep at all. How about you?"

"Okay. I could sleep more, though." He paused and ran his hand through his hair. He was in desperate need for a shower, but there was no way he'd have the will to stand long enough to do it justice.

"You look so tired, hon, and you need to eat your food so you have strength to get over this, whatever it is."

He sighed and tried his hardest not to get frustrated with her. "If I eat any more of that you'll be having to hold a bedpan so I can throw up in it." Even talking was taking too much out of him, but it had been so long since he had held a coherent conversation with anyone.

"Eric…" Before she could continue, the doctor walked in. Digging deep in his memory, Eric could not remember the man's name. Everything the night before was such a blur to him. The only thing he could recollect was that there were several possibilities of what he could have. Leukemia was the one that stuck out the most, along with something about his blood cells that Julie had looked up. Other than that it was like a bad dream, where he could only put things together like a puzzle with missing pieces.

"Coach, how's everything?" The doctor sat down on a stool and fumbled with some paperwork.

Eric shrugged. He wasn't sure what to say. "Better."

"Better, but not one hundred percent?" The doc tilted his head to the side.

"Yeah, I guess."

He walked over to Eric's food tray, and Eric caught a glimpse of the nametag on his lapel. Dr. Lee. "I see you aren't a fan of the food at this place either." He let out a chuckle. "I find myself leaving for lunch from time to time." His face grew serious. "But you do need to eat. Sleep and food are the two main things you'll need right now to help you get energy."

Eric wanted to say something sarcastic, but he bit his tongue. "You guys have any idea what's going on? I don't think my wife can take much more of this waiting game." And honestly, he didn't think he could either. He was starting to get extremely tired again, and he could feel his body sinking back down into the mattress. How sad, he had only been awake for about twenty minutes and already he was craving more sleep.

Dr. Lee glanced over the chart. "Yeah, I've got some results back. We put it priority, and the lab wasn't too busy last night." He paused and rubbed his temples. "You have a condition we call hereditary spherocytic hemolytic anemia."

Eric tried to focus on the medical lingo but his eyelids got real heavy, and he felt himself dozing in the middle of their conversation. Hopefully Tami was getting the details. He was just relieved it wasn't leukemia. This could be just as bad, and he'd never know.

Words like blood cells being the wrong shape and being anemic stood out. Something about his spleen being enlarged.

"You'll just need extensive rest. I don't think you need to go back to work until this passes. It's called fifths disease, and we'll need to monitor your spleen to make sure it doesn't rupture."

Eric nodded into the pillow. The edges of his vision grew black.

"Coach, you feeling okay?"

He mumbled something under his breath and lost the fight with himself to stay awake. The conversation was distant yet again, and the last thing he heard was Tami thanking Dr. Lee for his time.


	6. Chapter 6

Eric assumed he had fallen asleep, because when he woke up the only person in his room was Tami and from what he could tell, it was getting dark outside. He had no frame of reference to what time it was. He shifted his weight, not saying anything. The TV above him was on, but the volume was so low that he could not tell what was being said.

"Hey Eric. The doctor said you might get to go home tomorrow." Her fingers ruffled through his hair, reminding him that he hadn't had a shower.

Coughing, he cleared his throat. "Are they ever going to let me clean up?"

A smile parted her lips and she averted her glance back up to the TV. "They came in and gave you a sponge bath earlier. You woke up a few times, but for the most part you were out." The back of her hand brushed down his face. Her touch was smooth, which made him realize they had shaved him too.

"Probably best I don't remember it." He shivered under the bed sheet at the thought of people standing over him like that. The small of his back was sore from being in bed for so long. In fact, he wasn't sure how long he had been in the hospital. "How long… have I been in here?"

Tami bit her bottom lip. "Came in Friday night. It's now Sunday evening. They said they are going to keep you here one more night and see how things go. You'll probably be discharged tomorrow afternoon sometime."

Eric gnawed on the inside of his cheek, squinting up at the small screen. He was so tired of lying down so he mashed the button on the bed rail to lift up so that he was sitting at a forty five-degree angle. "Tam, you think they'll let me get out of this bed for awhile?"

She called the nurse and her response was quick. Thankfully, they allowed him to walk down the hall a few times and sit up in a chair. It felt refreshing and tiring at the same time. It was almost like learning to walk again. He had to brace himself against the wall a few times to sustain the vertigo that shot through his head, but once his body got back into the normal routine of walking it went more smoothly.

He noticed Tami's stare from across the room. "What are you gawking at?" There was a hint of playfulness in his voice.

"You have no idea how great it is to see you up and walking around." She sat on the edge of the bed, her knees up against his. She put both of her hands on either side of his face, pulling him in for a small peck on the lips. The feel of her warmth against him made him lean in closer, their kiss growing more full.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I'll come back later." The sound of Coach McGill's voice ended their embrace long before Eric wanted it to, and he felt his cheeks warm up at the sight of his assistant standing in the doorframe.

"Naw, it's okay, Coach. Come on in." Eric motioned his arm toward him, a laugh erupting from his throat. "What's up?"

Tami walked behind Coach McGill. "I'm going to grab something to drink. I'll be back in a little bit."

Mac took his hat off and twirled it on the tip of his index finger, nodding at Tami as she made her exit. "Just wanted to see how you were doing." He set down a small potted plant with a balloon that said "Get Well Soon" across the top of the window sill, only adding to the immense amount of gifts that were sent by concerned people of Dillon. "Word is you are breaking out of this joint soon."

"That's what I hear. I slept through pretty much all of what the doctor had to say. Still not sure what the hell is wrong with me. Something about blood cells being shaped like little mini frisbees or some crap like that." Eric paused, his brow creasing as he thought about the next week of football and how they couldn't afford not to have their head coach. "If they let me out tomorrow I'll be at practice on Tuesday, you can count on that."

Mac smirked. "Are you kidding Eric? You can barely keep your eyes open while you are talking to me, what makes you think you will be ready to stand out on the football field and coach? You know we have it under control. No one will think less of you if you aren't back out there."

Eric hadn't noticed that he was dozing off. He slowly stood up, pushing off of the chair with a loud grunt. "I guess I better get back in bed." He slung his legs onto the bed and nestled down into the pillow to his side. "I'm fine, Mac. Once I get out of here and am actually able to move around I'll be awake. I've just gotten too much sleep in here, you know how that goes."

"I'm afraid Tami might say otherwise."

Eric scoffed and raked his hand through his hair. "She's never stopped me before."

It was as if Tami could hear them, and she walked back in, a can of Coke in her hand and a magazine under her arm. "Who's never stopped you from what?"

"That's my cue to go. You guys call me if you need anything, and let me know when you get home." McGill waved at Tami. "Take it easy, Coach. There's no hurry."

"I've never stopped you from what?" Tami's expression told Eric she was joking around, but he chose to pretend like he was going to sleep to duck out of answering her.

* * *

"Well, Coach, it looks like you'll be out of here as soon as we get your paperwork done. The charge nurse is working on it right now. They'll be some at home care instructions as well as some diet suggestions." Dr. Lee paused as he clicked his pen shut and put it in his breast pocket. "I don't want you going back to work just yet."

Eric ran his fingers over the back of his left hand, feeling free from the IV's that were recently in his veins. Small bruising had formed and the purple was dark against his pale skin. "How long 'til I can go back?" He was going to go back tomorrow, he already knew that, but asked the question for show.

"I'd say not for the rest of this week. You still need rest, and your spleen is still enlarged and is vulnerable. We are trying to do what we can not to remove it. We gave you two units of blood but your blood count is still not back up to normal. That will take time and rest on your part."

He eyed a pair of sweats and a T-shirt on his bedside table and was ready to get out of the hospital gown and into his own clothes again. He had received a blood transfusion? He must have slept through that as well. If he argued right now it would only cause a scene, and he didn't want that with Julie there. "Okay. Thanks, Dr. Lee." He put his hand out and Dr. Lee returned the handshake.

"Get lots of rest. It'll help you out. We don't want that spleen rupturing or for you to overexert yourself again." He walked to the door. "I'll go check on the paperwork. I know you are ready to climb the walls."

Eric grabbed the pile of clothing and ambled toward the bathroom. Changing clothes was a complicated task, and he found himself growing winded just by putting a shirt on. He closed the lid of the toilet and sat down, catching his breath before he went back out to face his family. He couldn't lead on that it made him tired.

Why did he feel so nauseous? Wasn't he supposed to feel better? He swallowed back the spit that poured into his mouth, jumping at the sound of a loud knock on the other side of the door. "Eric, hon, you need any help?"

He couldn't help but roll his eyes, but instantly felt guilty. She was there for him and many could say they didn't have the help that Tami had been for him. He stood up and balled the hospital gown into a wad. Grunting, he threw it into the shower with satisfaction. "I'm fine. I had to take a leak." He turned the knob and saw that only Gracie, Julie and Tami were in his room.

"They need you to sign a couple of forms and then you are free to go. She said she'd be right back with them."

He tried to stay composed, but sat back down on the corner of the bed, winking at Julie. "Hey kid, how are you?"

Julie wrinkled her nose and shifted Gracie on her hip. "Glad you are doing better, Daddy." She leaned in and kissed him on the cheek.

"Thanks, monkey noodle." He reached out and pulled Gracie up against his chest, the weight of her on him catching him off guard. She wasn't more than twenty-five pounds but it was a huge reminder of just how weak he was when he couldn't hold her for too long. He kissed the top of her head, her peach fuzz tickling his nose. She smelled like baby powder. It had only been a few days since he had held her, but he truly had missed it.

"Coach Taylor, can you sign these two forms? After that, you are free to go." The nurse clicked a pen and handed him the papers. He glanced over them and signed the bottom. "Would you like a wheelchair out to your car?"

Glancing at Tami and back at the nurse, he scoffed. "Naw, I'll make it just fine. But thanks anyway." Handing her back her pen and papers, he stood up and handed Gracie to Tami. "Let's get outta Dodge, what'dya say?"

* * *

Home. The familiar scent of fresh floral hit him as Tami opened the door, allowing him to walk in first. It amazed him to see how clean it was, when normally it had a lived in look. "Wow, someone's been busy cleanin' the place up." He strode to his easy chair and sat down, his body sinking into it.

"Julie did it for you. I stayed up at the hospital and she took care of a lot of stuff for me."

Eric reached for Julie, pulling her in for a tight hug. He felt a sharp pain on his side but masked it. "Thanks for doing that for your mom. Just for that, you get to pick what movie we watch tonight."

She had picked out some foreign film where they were forced to read subtitles. He should've expected she would pick out something like this and he felt guilty about not staying awake, but his body won that battle and he dozed off within minutes of it starting. From time to time he could hear the sounds from the TV, but was so out of it that it could have been coming from the neighbor's house.

"Eric?" A tug on his arm pulled him from a blurred and meaningless dream that he couldn't piece together if he tried. "Hey, the movie is over. You wanna go to the bed or sleep here?"

Tami's hair flowed over her shoulders, brushing against his face. He ran his hand over his nose to brush the strands away. "I uhh, I wanna sleep in my bed." Groggily he stood, but didn't move. He told his legs to move but nothing happened until he felt Tami's hand pull on his arm, tugging him down the hallway that seemed like a mile.

"Do you wanna change or just sleep in those sweats?"

He pulled the shirt over his head and plopped down into the comforter, the familiar scent of fresh linen calming him so much better than the industrial smell of the hospital. His own bed. He was excited despite the fact that he had no energy to show for it. Before he could answer her he was out again.

* * *

At first he couldn't figure out what the annoying beeping was, so he rolled over and pulled the pillow over his head. But then it got louder. And he grew more furious and annoyed. What was it? Why was it beeping? Was it his heart monitor? Was the nurse going to come check it? He felt a body overlap his and then the beeping subsided. He came to terms with reality and realized that he was at home, in his own bed, away from any terrifying monitor.

"Eric, I gotta get up for work." It was Tami, and he pulled the pillow from his face. She was sitting up, her lacy nightgown disheveled. She straightened it and walked toward the bathroom, running her hands through her hair as she yawned.

"Hurry up in the shower, I need to get to work a little early to get things in order since I missed yesterday." He stretched and clutched his side, ignoring the soreness. He guessed that was the swollen spleen the doctor warned him about, but as long as he didn't get bumped it probably wouldn't pose a problem.

Tami turned on her heel, a look of disbelief on her face. "You're kidding me, right?"

Sitting up, he made sure the alarm was turned off before that annoying sound twinged his eardrums. "I'm not kidding. You know I can't afford to take another day off." He paused. "Dammit Tami, I feel fine. Now go take your shower before you make both of us late."

"Eric, it's too soon! Do you want to end up back in the hospital?" She was now standing directly in front of him. Glaring up at her, he stood up and grabbed a pair of khakis and a blue Panther shirt from his closet.

"Fine, I'll take mine first." He slammed the bathroom door, ignoring any comment she had.

The warm water felt so good as it cascaded over his skin. Doubt began to settle in the pit of his stomach. Was it really too early? He honestly didn't know. But he was certain of one thing. They had three days to prepare for their next game, and he couldn't afford a loss. He'd be to blame if he wasn't on the field, and the boosters wouldn't care about his health. All they cared about was a W behind the school's name in the newspaper on Saturday morning.

He was going to go to work. He obtained the blood transfusion as treatment. He got a ton of rest over the weekend. It was time to get back to the gridiron, even if it was against medical advice. Come hell or high water, he'd be back on that field on Friday night.


	7. Chapter 7

"Coach? I didn't expect you back so soon." McGill practically ran across the weight room when Eric entered the field house. He wasn't in the mood for all of the lectures and advice he was sure everyone would throw his way.

Eric gritted his teeth and threw his duffel bag down on the couch in his office. "I can't stay in that house. I'm about to climb the damn walls." His coffee was refreshing and more soothing than the crap they had been serving him in the hospital. "What did you guys cover yesterday?"

Mac placed his hands on his hips, his gaze offensive to Eric. His body language told Eric that he disapproved of the abrupt change of conversation. "You don't skip a beat do ya?" Pausing, he twirled his finger through the cup of pens on the desk. "We watched some game film. Worked on our defense."

Eric sat down hard in his chair, his body collapsing in the leather. He tried not to show how good it felt to not be standing, but his loud groan was probably enough evidence for his assistant to get somewhat of an idea. It didn't matter, though. He wasn't going to sit around the house when there was work to get done.

"When are they gonna reschedule our Westerby game?" He thumbed through the newspaper, grimacing at his picture in the sports section. There was an article about what had happened Friday night at Herrmann Field. Since the paper only came out on Sundays and Wednesdays it was a somewhat new piece of information for the Dillon Chronicle.

"They are going to pin it at the end of district play before the playoffs start. Westerby doesn't have any off weeks between now and then."

Eric had barely heard his reply. He was too busy reading over the careless writing of some no name reporter he had never heard of. Was it legal of them to that? He had always hated the media types and for them to post his personal information like this without getting his consent made him see red.

"Can they do this?" His voice cracked as he folded the paper at the crease and tossed it across to McGill.

McGill's eyes scanned the words. "Coach Taylor fainted on the sidelines just two minutes into the home game on Friday night. His condition is unknown at this time, but many are led to believe that it has to do with exhaustion." Glancing up, he pursed his lips. "I guess since it's all speculation and they don't really say much it's legal. They didn't even put what was really wrong with you."

Eric folded his arms over his chest and leaned back in his chair, causing the springs to squeak. It was freedom of the press, and taking them on would be a waste of his time, especially since they didn't pry into his medical records. It was redundant to report with no facts. "Is there such thing as responsible reporting anymore? Or did it ever exist?"

Mac let out a low laugh and threw the paper back down on his keyboard. "I think you know the answer to that, Coach."

* * *

Just as Eric had expected, there was a line outside Tami's office to see her. The waiting room had always made him feel uncomfortable. The hormonal teenagers always seemed to be staring at him, or at least that's what his imagination led him to believe. He would never forget the time he was waiting and he'd glance up to see a young freshman girl looking at him, and each time they made eye contact she would giggle, her cheeks would redden, and she'd look down at her shoes. Why did she find him so entertaining? He found it amusing and annoying at the same time. Today he was in no mood, so he cut in line, only to find Tami talking to Tyra when he walked through the door.

"Eric, hey hon? What's up?" She closed a manila folder. "Tyra and I were just having a chat."

He forced a smile down at Tyra and she returned the gesture. Standing up, she handed Tami her pen. "I'll just come back after school. It's no problem, Mrs. T."

"Are you sure? I'm sorry to interrupt our little meeting."

Tyra shook her head no. "It's fine. 3:30 okay?"

"Sure is. See you then."

Eric opened the door for Tyra. It was on the tip of his tongue to apologize to her as well, but the words didn't come out, just a nod of his head. He slammed the door behind her and turned back to Tami who's happy, smiling, and cheerful demeanor had instantly changed. She was glaring at him and it sent chills down his spine.

"You have really gotta get out of the habit of barging in on my sessions. I don't go down to the field and break up a huddle, do I?" She clasped her hands together and lay them on the surface of her desk.

Eric's gaze shifted from her. He scanned the shelf on the back wall, looking at pictures of Julie and Gracie, as well as one of the two of them at a pep rally together. "I just…" He stopped himself and sat down in the chair that Tyra was recently sitting in. "I just wanted to come say sorry for this morning." He ran his over the back of his hair and down his neck, the speculation of her reaction making him nervous.

Tami said nothing at first and bit her bottom lip. "Well, I'm not sure what to say Eric. You never listen to me anyway."

He leaned back, trying to compose the frustration he was feeling. "What do you mean?"

"I suggest going to the doctor. You didn't. You let it get so far out of hand that it got to the point of you passing out on the field. And now, you go against medical advice and come back to work a day after you get discharged. What in the hell is so important that you have to be back so soon?" She was keeping her voice low so everyone on the other side of the door wouldn't hear, but her attempts at staying quiet were failing.

He leaned forward and brushed a crumb from the surface of her desk, trying to search for something to say. "We have a big game coming up. You know how the town gets."

"Who cares how they get!" She interrupted him, this time she didn't worry about being quiet. "Would you rather end up dead because you are trying so hard to impress them? Damn Eric, you can be so stubborn sometimes. I hate you when you are like this!"

He was literally speechless, so he stood up and reached for the doorknob. "Eric, wait." She came around her desk quickly, standing between the door and him. "Just please, be careful. If you start feeling bad, go home. If the boosters and Buddy Garrity don't like it, that's too bad. How are they going to feel if you are out longer because you didn't get adequate recovery time?"

He gripped the doorknob tight, his palms moist against the metal. He wanted to just open the door and leave her there with no reply, but instead he came to his senses and nodded at her. "I'm fine right now. I probably won't stay for the whole practice today, okay?" He arched his eyebrow, hoping she'd be fine with that compromise.

"I guess that's as good as it'll get with you." Finally, she had smiled, and it was contagious. He felt a grin creep up on the corners of his mouth and he leaned in and gave her a quick kiss on the lips.

"Friends?" He brushed his lips up against hers again.

"Friends."

He opened the door and it was an instant reminder that she had students waiting. "I'll let you get back to work."

"Okay hon, see you later."

* * *

"C'mon defense, don't make me demonstrate how you make a damn tackle! Hit them low, force all of your body weight forward. Carry that momentum!" Eric paced back and forth, watching as his defensive line ran tackling drills on the tackling dummies. He honestly could say that he was feeling a lot better than the previous weeks, but deep inside he knew he wasn't feeling his best.

"Those boys from Laribee outweigh us by about fifty, Coach. We oughta take them in early for some weight training."

Eric eyed Coach Crawley through his sunglasses. "I'm aware of their physical stats, Coach. Seems we need to go back to basic fundamentals on how you make a tackle first, don't ya think? By the looks of it, these boys have forgotten how to make a simple stop."

"You got it, Coach."

"No, no, Davis, go for the knees! I guarantee you that every man on the other side of the ball Friday night will be two times your size. Going for their shoulders is only going to embarrass you." He paused and walked to the front of one of the tackling dummies. "I didn't want to have to do this gentlemen, but I guess I gotta show you again. Let's go back to junior high beginning football, shall we?"

He braced himself and ran at the dummy, grabbing it low. He heaved the blue padding forward and let go, pain shooting through his midsection. It felt like the wind had gotten knocked out of him, so he put his arms over his head to compose himself. With each deep breath he took in his body craved more, so they turned into short pants.

"Gentlemen… that's how it… should be done." He walked to the sideline, trying to get his breath back. More discomfort enveloped him so he slumped over to try and relieve it. Everyone fell silent which made Eric aware that something just wasn't right.

"Eric, sit down. Are you okay?" He felt McGill's arm on his shoulder and he pushed it away. He felt so nauseous. His saliva glands kicked in and his mouth filled with spit. Not able to fight it anymore, he threw up. Dry heaves constricted through his stomach, making the shards of pain intensify. "He needs to get to the hospital."

"No, just let me sit for a second." By this time the team had huddled around him. He was too tired to care and clutched his side.

"Eric, Coach Crawley just called for an ambulance. Something isn't right and you know it."

He was hurting so badly that he wouldn't be able to object even if he wanted to. He had learned a hard lesson the first time he ignored his problems. Nodding, he tried to position himself to help ease the pressure, but no matter how he averted his body the pain only got worse.

Sirens could be heard in the distance, but they still seemed miles away to him.

* * *

"Mrs. Taylor? Sorry to interrupt, but…" The office secretary trailed off, and Tami looked across at the student she had just begun her session with. "Can I speak to you in private?" The lady looked nervous, and Tami could feel the bile in the back of her throat build up. Something had happened, and her first suspicion was Eric.

"Sure, Mrs. Shaffer. Chrissy, we'll continue this soon, okay?"

The young girl nodded and left the office. Tami swallowed hard, waiting for Mrs. Shaffer to begin. "Your husband was transported to Dillon Regional a few minutes ago by ambulance. They said he doubled over in pain."

Tami instantly grabbed her purse and stood up. "Do they know why?"

Mrs. Shaffer shook her head. "I'm afraid that's all I know."

"Thanks." Tami hurried down the hall, trying to remember what after school activity Julie had told her she was attending today. It was Tuesday, so it was more than likely dance practice. Her pace quickened and she opened the door to the classroom where the group had met.

"Julie!" She motioned her hands toward her. Julie got up from her seat, her face full of question. "Can you go get Gracie from daycare? They took dad back to the hospital. That's all I know, but you'll be the first person I call when I find anything out."

"But mom, I want to go too."

"Just get Gracie, hopefully by then we'll know something." She handed her the keyring out of her purse. "Take my car, I'll go get dad's truck and use it. Thanks, hon." She pulled Julie in for a tight hug. "Don't freak out, I'm sure everything is going to be fine."

Tami wasn't sure who she was directing that comment at, Julie or herself. Regardless, it didn't sound too convincing.


	8. Chapter 8

Tami wasn't sure how she got to the hospital, but she pulled in to the parking garage and sat, gripping the steering wheel tightly for a few moments. She was in Eric's Explorer, and his scent lingered inside it. The subtle hint of his after-shave seemed to be in the fabric of the seat, so she leaned her head to the side, breathing it in. She wished it were him sitting beside her, but she opened her eyes to an empty passenger side.

She composed herself and tried to calm her nerves, turning the ignition off. Somewhere behind those double doors of the ER, Eric was being examined yet again. She hoped it wasn't anything serious and finally got the strength to exit the vehicle and walk to the entrance.

It was extremely busy when she approached the nurse's station. She tried hard to fight off the tears she could feel building up in the corner of her eyes, but she felt the warmth of a tear fall down her cheek.

"Ma'am, can we help you?" She felt a hand grip her arm from behind, and she turned to see a familiar face. She couldn't recall the lady's name, but knew she had seen her just recently.

"I think the ambulance just brought my husband in. Eric Taylor."

She nodded. "Follow me." Tami wasn't sure, but the nurse's face grew solemn as they walked down the hallway and into a room. "Wait here, I'll go get Dr. Lee. I think he's in with your husband right now."

Tami nodded. "Thank you." She grabbed a Kleenex from the table that was sitting in the middle of the room, the smell of coffee engulfing her. She didn't want to sit down, so she paced back and forth. The waiting game began again and her patience was completely gone at this point. Had they discharged him too soon? Was there something else wrong that they didn't catch? She knew the answer. Eric had gone back to work too soon. Again, his stubborn streak had made him pay for something.

"Mrs. Taylor?" The doctor's voice interrupted her from her thoughts and she turned on her heel and saw him standing in the threshold of the door. "Feel free to have a seat. I'm sure you are wondering what the heck is going on."

She didn't respond and stayed standing, running the Kleenex over her nose. Swallowing, she tried to read Dr. Lee's body language but he was good at masking emotion. "How is Eric?" Her voice was raspy and she coughed to clear it out.

"His spleen ruptured. I sent him up for surgery and he should be out within the next hour." He fumbled through papers on a clipboard. "Judging by the clothes he had on when they brought him to the ER, I surmise that he went back to work today?"

Shaking her head, she began to pace again. "Yeah, I couldn't stop him." She paused as she fought the quiver in her voice. "Is he going to be okay? This has been such a roller coaster. First he's okay and at home, the next I have someone tell me he's back in. What is going on?"

Dr. Lee approached her, handing her another Kleenex to replace the one she had that was completely soaked now. "His spleen was enlarged from the fifth's disease he had. That's why I suggested he stay home a little while longer to prevent damaging it further. His assistant reported that Coach Taylor went up to demonstrate a tackling technique and then complained of a sharp pain. I think the impact ruptured the spleen." He poured himself a cup of coffee and offered her one, but she declined. "We are going to perform a splenectomy on him, which is considered a serious surgery, but is also routine. It'll take about an hour. Right now we are waiting on our surgeon on call to get here. Since his was enlarged they are having to make a larger incision, but we are expecting a good and full recovery on his part."

She bit her bottom lip and stared down at the tile on the floor. "And what are the long term effects of this? I've heard about people without spleens before."

"He'll just have to make sure he gets all of his vaccinations and takes precautions around sick people. I'm gonna go check and see if he's gone up to surgery yet. I'll be right back."

"Thanks." She let out a sigh of relief, but she still had doubt in her mind.

~*~*~*~

A sharp pain was the first thing Eric noticed. He tried to shift his weight and roll over, but something as clamped down on his leg, preventing him from moving out of the uncomfortable position he was in. Grumbling, he let out a low yelp from the discomfort on his left side. "What the…" His throat was sore and all he wanted to do was go back to sleep, but confusion and curiosity, as well as the pain didn't allow him to doze back off.

"Eric, honey are you awake?" He recognized that voice and opened his eyes to see a blur above him. "Man, it's good to see those green eyes open up, Eric. You've been out for about three hours now." He felt fingertips fan through his hair, sending a chill down his spine.

Blinking several times, he rubbed his palms over his eyes to try and clear his version and finally, Tami came into full focus. She was smiling and leaning over him, her scent was calming. Her fingers still worked their magic on his scalp, alleviating some of the soreness.

"Mmm… that feels good." He whispered, leaning in to her touch.

"Do you need anything? A glass of water or something?" Her hands pulled away and cold air hit where her warmth recently was.

"Why'd you stop?" He kept his eyes closed, cringing as a sharp twinge shot through him.

"Are you hurting? I think it might be time for some more medication. I'll call your nurse." She must've saw the pain on his face because he was trying to hide that he was hurting.

The conversation she had through the speaker was distant to him, and he didn't really comprehend much of it. It seemed like seconds and he was beginning to feel good again. His eyelids slowly fluttered open and he reached out, pulling her arm to his face. "Where's my nurse at with my medicine?"

"Hon, she just came in about five minutes ago and gave you some. Why, are you still hurting?" Tami's brow creased with worry as she reached for the remote on his bed again.

"No, don't call her. I'm feeling good, I just never heard her come in." He tried to slide over in bed but the same restraint was keeping him from going anywhere. "How come I can't move my legs and roll over?"

She lifted up the sheet on the right corner of the bed. "They have your leg tied to the rail so you don't roll over on your left side and hurt your wound. They said when you got out of surgery you kept wanting to shift to that side and they don't want to risk you trying it again when no one is watching."

He gritted his teeth and stared up at the ceiling, a floating sensation taking over his senses. He grew nauseous so he closed his eyes to fight off the spinning. "I just wanna…" He trailed off, forgetting what he was going to say altogether.

"You just wanna what, hon?" Her hands were back on his hair.

"Hell, I don't… know." His body relaxed under the blankets and suddenly he was back asleep, the morphine winning the battle over staying awake.

~*~*~*~

"We are checking his temperature right now." Eric's vision blurred as he felt his eyelids flutter open and something cold ran across his face and over his forehead. Licking his lips, he couldn't help but notice that his tongue felt like sandpaper. The room was extremely hot and it took him a moment to focus on the ceiling above him. "Coach, are you awake now?"

A nurse leaned over him, the smooth object now running behind his ear. Pulling away, he mumbled into his pillow. The taste in his mouth was stale and he reached across for his water, but the bedside table was free of everything. He ran the palm of his hand across the surface and slammed his arm back down beside him. He felt the tension of his IV chords and it was a sudden reminder that he was back in the hospital.

"Eric, hon, what's the matter?"

He didn't lift his head but he knew that Tami was there. He wanted to roll onto his left side so bad, but the abrupt pain in his midsection screamed out for him not to.

"Well, his fever is up pretty high. It's jumped up a few degrees. I'll give him some antibiotics to help fight any infection."

Her words were so distant but he noticed a gasp in Tami's voice. He opened his eyes and reached his hand out to her. She returned his handshake, her grip tight on his. "Eric, you've been out for about seven hours now. How are you feeling?"

He pursed his lips and tried to smile, but even that seemed to take too much energy. "It's so… hot." Eric shoved the sheet down to his waist, but the heat still didn't subside. "Can I have something to drink?" His spit was pasty and it was hard to swallow.

The nurse poured him a cup of water and he drank it down fast, motioning for more. It felt so good and it was so cold that he cold feel it trickle down to his gut. An instant headache coursed through his temples so he paused in between gulps to gain his composure. It felt like the more he drank the more his body craved.

"Coach Taylor, you are running a really high fever. We are trying to avoid any infection so we are keeping an eye on the wound and giving you some antibiotics to sustain it. How are you feeling?" The nurse clutched her clipboard and reached for her pen that was behind her ear.

His stomach began to churn and he pushed the styrofoam cup away from him and braced himself by grabbing the rails on the side of his bed. Bile formed in the back of his throat and he tried to find a bedpan. Thankfully, Tami was right on cue with what was going on and she held one in front of his face just in time. Gagging, he felt the cold water come back up. His side throbbed with tension as his abdomen jolted forward.

Moaning, he fell backward into the hospital mattress. He ran the back of his hand over his forehead and felt beads of sweat just below his hairline. One more gag erupted but it was just a dry heave. His eyes were burning so he squeezed them shut, just wanting to go back to sleep but he was hurting too bad.

"Eric, you okay?" Tami's hand pressed through his hair, giving him the chills.

He nodded. "What the hell is going on?" His voice was raspy from the stomach acid, and coughing only made things worse.

"Your spleen ruptured. They had to rush you here for an emergency surgery to remove it. Now they are trying to keep things from getting infected."

Eric glared at the nurse through the corner of his eye. "How long have I been here?"

The nurse sifted through pages of paperwork. "Almost two days now. You've been sleeping a lot, which is good for your body to rest, but we need you to try and start waking up. How are you feeling right now?"

There was that annoying question again. He stared up at the blank TV and back down to his hands, studying the lines in his palm. "I'm sleepy and my side is hurting." What else did she want to know? That he was ready to go run a marathon? He hated that question. He was laid up in a hospital bed, how was he supposed to feel?

The nurse put her clipboard down and pulled up the side of his hospital gown, her fingers prodding the bandage on the wound. "I'm going to take a look at the area." She pulled the tape off and it pulled at his skin, but it was minimal discomfort compared to what he had been feeling. Her fingers traced down his side and it made him uncomfortable. "I'm going to leave the gauze off for a little bit and let it air out. It looks like the start of a mild infection."

"What? What do you mean?" Tami's voice shook and her brow was creased with worry. "How did that happen?"

"Since Eric doesn't have a spleen anymore he is more susceptible to getting infections and having a hard time getting over them without proper medication. We see this a lot in splenectomies. It's nothing to really worry about, but I'll have the doctor take a look at it so it doesn't get out of hand." She turned around when she got to the door. "Eric, if you need anything, let us know. I gave you another dose of pain meds when I put the antibiotics in your IV."

"Thanks, Jenny." Tami averted her attention back to Eric, her hand running over his chest. "You are burning up, hon. You want some more water?"

She reached for the pitcher but he put his hand up, stopping her. "No. I'm okay." He bit his bottom lip and ran his finger down one of the IV chords. "How are my girl's doing?" It seemed like he hadn't seen either Gracie or Julie in ages.

"They were here earlier. You woke up for a few minutes, but was so out of it we didn't figure you'd remember." She poured herself some water and drank it down. "Julie is worried sick. She missed school because she couldn't keep her mind off of it."

"Hell, I'll be fine." His stomach tightened when he thought about all of the stress they were probably going through. "They just keep findin' crap to add onto the bill, that's all this is." He pulled her hand to his face and kissed the back of it. "I wanna see them. Next time they come up, make sure my ass is awake." He actually smiled, but it quickly dissipated when Tami didn't look as amused.

"Eric, they think your wound is infected. God knows when they are going to let you out of here. I'm really worried for you. Why haven't you gotten better?" A tear gathered in the corner of her eye. "I'm not sure if you caught on, but the nurse was really concerned about your fever."

"No, I didn't notice." His eyelids grew heavy and he yawned. "It'll be okay, Tam."


	9. Chapter 9

"It's so damn… hot." Eric kicked the covers off of the bed, feeling the restraint on his ankle that was hindering him from being able to move. He felt like a prisoner. Licking his lips, he reached for his water on the side table. The water was warm but it was still refreshing. He jolted when he felt fingertips run over his arm. It felt like his skin was crawling.

"Hey hon. You want some fresh water?" Tami's fingers moved up to his hair and she stroked his scalp, sending a chill down his spine.

"No. This is fine." His eyelids felt heavy but he fought to keep them open. "What the hell is going on?" It hurt his head to speak loud, so he whispered. Thankfully, Tami heard every word. He didn't have the energy to repeat anything back to her.

"You got your spleen removed. And now they think you've got an infection where they took it out. The doctor is about to make his rounds and check you over."

"Keep doing that." Eric nodded at her, pulling her hand towards him before she could sit back down on the fold out chair.

"Keep doing what?"

"Run your fingers through my hair. It's really helping with the headache." Her hands took over again, running through what he knew was an oily mess of hair. He couldn't remember the last time he had gotten a shower and felt extremely dirty, but honestly didn't think he'd have the physical stamina to stand up and bathe. A bath would probably make him pass out. "Mmm…" He moaned and leaned in to her touch, closing his eyes tightly. "I just wanna sleep in my own bed."

"I know hon, this isn't exactly a five star hotel." Her hands stopped massaging him for a moment and he opened his eyes, noticing that she had walked over to the window, her brow creased in worry. "Eric, will this be a wake up call for you to do what the doctor says this time?"

Eric fidgeted with his IV line and reached for the TV remote. Before he could respond to her aggravating question, Dr. Lee entered. "Hey there Coach Taylor, I wasn't expecting to see you so soon." He pulled up a stool from the corner of the room and put on a pair of exam gloves and the plastic slapping against his skin made Eric jump. "I'm going to lift up your gown to take a look at the wound."

Eric flinched when he pulled up his clothing, exposing his side to the cold air that nipped at him. He hated to be the focal point of everyone in the room, but thankfully there was only a nurse, Tami, and the doctor. Anyone else and he would have made them leave. The doctor prodded on him, making him let out a low groan. The area was still very sore, but it was more like a dull ache now, rather than a sharp, continuous pain.

"Well, Eric, it looks like it's starting to heal up. There's still some infection around the stitching but I'm going to apply some ointment to help further aide in the recovery." He squeezed some clear paste from a tube and applied it to a q-tip. The liquid burned a little as Eric felt it gel over his skin, but it subsided after a thick layer was applied. "How are you feeling?"

Eric scratched his eyebrow with his thumb and took in a deep sigh. "I'm ready to go home."

Dr. Lee laughed and folded his arms over his chest. "I understand that Coach, but really, are you feeling better than before?"

"Yeah. I'm just really sore right now, and I think half of it is because I've been lying down for damn near a weak now. Once I get back into a normal routine things will start going better."

The doctor stood up and washed his hands before turning back to them. "Well, I think we'll keep you another day for observation and then I'll cut you loose. Maybe this time you'll stay home until I release you to go back to work, okay? I do have my reasons as to why I suggest rest."

Eric glared at him, fighting off the sarcastic remark that was on the tip of his tongue. Instead of causing more friction he shrugged off Dr. Lee's comment. "Thanks for stopping by, Doctor."

"If you guys need anything else just let one of my nurses know."

Eric watched as he left and turned to Tami, the smirk on her face lighting a fuse with him. "What's so funny?"

She brushed her fingers over the top of his head, feeling the strands brush over his forehead. It felt good, but he pulled away to show he was annoyed with her.

"Nothing's funny. I just find something odd." She sat forward in the chair, close enough for her perfume to linger over them. "You hate being in the hospital so bad, yet you are the reason you are here again. To you realize the irony in that?"

Eric shifted his weight, trying to get comfortable but that was next to impossible. The only way he would feel good was being at home in his recliner, watching game film. "Yeah, I went and made my spleen rupture and get infected. That's crap, Tami."

She held her hand up to stop him. "I'm not saying that, hon. My point is that you were stubborn and ignored problems like you did before. If you would've gone by what the doctor said you probably would've never ended up back here. That's why he said to rest!"

Rolling his eyes, Eric grabbed an extra pillow and put it over his face. "I'm gonna sleep this day away. Wake me up when they discharge me."

~*~*~*~

The next morning seemed like it had taken an eternity, but after all of Eric's paperwork was filled out again he was released to go home. The air outside was crisp and cool, but the breeze was fresh. Finally, smells of linen and cleaning solution that seemed to be burned inside his nostrils was gone, replaced by the scent of fall.

Tami hoisted a couple of plants that were sent to him. "Damn Tami, after these two hospital stays we can probably open up our own greenhouse. What the hell are we gonna do with all of those plants? I guess everyone thought I was a chick."

She placed the pots in the back of the SUV and got in the driver's side, glaring at him. "Eric, it's a nice gesture to receive gifts like that. What did you want them to do, send you some scotch and cigars?"

Chucking, Eric pulled the seatbelt tight over his chest. "That would've been nice. At least I'd get some usage out of it."

"I'm sure your dietician would've loved that."

Eric was more observant on the drive home. They drove down Texas Avenue where most of the mainstream businesses were located. He never really stopped to observe the small town. So many quaint and local businesses and corner shops. Then there were of course the big corporate chains that were putting more of the little men out of business. Applebee's. Wal-Mart. Those were the two that stuck out the most.

Dillon was a town that had to grow on you. If you weren't a native to the place it seemed like a hellhole until the customs became everyday life to you. Julie was a prime example of that. She hated him for moving her here, and now she'd hate him if he ever moved her away. That girl didn't know what she wanted and he was thankful she was that way. She kept things interesting. He was so proud of how she handled things the past couple of weeks during his health problems.

"Well hon, you wanna get out or just sit in the truck all day?"

Eric glanced over at Tami, shaking his head clear from the trance he was in. "Yeah, let's go in the house."

He was home. This time he wouldn't take his health for granted the way he did. He was lucky to come out okay and good luck would only go so far.

Julie hugged him as soon as he walked through the threshold, her arms tight around his neck. It made his side sore but he didn't care, nothing would keep him away from hugging her. Funny how a hospital stay opened his eyes to what he normally took for granted.

"Welcome home, daddy."

Grinning, he kissed her on the cheek. "Thanks Jules. For everything."


End file.
